Weighting devices for the treatment of foot ailments



y 1959 B. LIEBERMAN 2,886,032

,WEIGHTING DEVICES FOR THE TREATMENT OF FOOT AILMENTS Filed Nov. :50, 1956 T 3 Sh eets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR,

y 1959" I BJLIEBERMAN 2,886,032

WEIGHT QING DEVICES FOR THE TREATMENT OF FOIOT'AILMENTS Filed Nov. 30, 1956 I :5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig.5A

INVENTOR.

May 12, 1959 B. LIEBERMAN ,0

WEIGHTING DEVICES FOR THE TREATMENT OF FOOT AILMENTS Filed Nov. 50, 195 6 5 Sheets-Sheet s r INVEN TOR.

United States Patent WEIGHTING DEVICES FOR THE TREATMENT OF FOOT AILMENTS Benjamin Lieberman, Forest Hills, NY. Application November 30, 1956, Serial No. 625,510

6 Claims. (Cl. 128-=80) The present invention refers to devices for the treatment of foot ailments, and more particularly to devices for applying gravitational pull to the foot in order to obtain beneficial effects.

It is a main object of this invention to provide a device that is adapted to carry a weight and to be disengageably attached to a shoe so that a gravitational pull is exerted on the foot while it is held in a normal position.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a weighting device of the type set forth that can be easily clamped to, and removed from, the shoe of the user.

It is still another object of this invention to provide a weighting device of the type set forth which is easily and comparatively inexpensively manufactured, and ruggedly constructed so as to stand up well under ordinary wear and use.

With above objects in view, a weighting device in accordance with the invention comprises a clamping means for engaging the shoe of the user and a weight attached to said clamping means for exerting gravitational pull on the toe portion of the shoe engaged by the clamping device.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description, in which, by way of example, reference is had to some preferred embodiments of the invention as illustrated by the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the invention,

Fig. 2 is a similar view of the embodiment of Fig. 1 showing its application to the toe portion of a shoe,

Fig. 3 is a plan view of another embodiment, the weight being omitted,

Figs. 4 and 5 are lateral and front elevations, respec tively, of the embodiment shown in Fig. 3.

Fig. 3A is a diagrammatic perspective view of the em.- bodiment of Fig. 3, and

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a further embodiment of the invention.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, a weight 1 which may be a piece of metal of about 1 pound weight (which has been found suitable for the purpose in question) is attached by means of a fastener, as for instance a screw, a pin, or a drive screw, 2 driven into a corresponding hole in the top surface of the weight 1, to the clamping means represented by a wire form 3. The wire form 3 has a loop l surrounding the shank of the fastener 2, and two curved arms 5, 5' formed to embrace the toe portion of a shoe 6 and to lodge themselves in the recess usually existing between the edge 7 of the sole and the upper of the shoe 8. Preferably the Wire form is made from spring wire so as to provide some clamping force through the arms 5, 5'. In order to provide an even more effective clamping force, an extension spring 9 is assembled with the wire form 3 by connecting each end thereof with the bent ends of the arms 5 and 5', respectively. The ends of the arms 5, 5' are bent downward at 10 so that the spring 9 2,886,032 Patented May 12, 1959 extends underneath the sole of the shoe 8 when the device is applied to the shoe.

It is evident that in the position shown in Fig. 2 the weight 1 will exert a gravitational pull on the foot lodged in the shoe and that the whole device can be attached to the shoe and disengaged therefrom in the simplest possible manner. The application of gravitational pull is therefore greatly simplified as compared with other ways of doing this while the ailing foot is not lodged in a shoe.

Referring now to Figs. 3-5, which show only the clamping means without the weight, a wire form 11 is provided which eliminates the use of a second spring. Spring wire is formed in such a manner that two loops or hooks 12 are provided at the two ends of the wire. In assembling this wire form with a weight, the two hooks 12 are superimposed to each other to form an eye through which the fastener 2, shown in Figs. 1 and 2, may be driven into the weight 1. Otherwise the wire form 12 is formed symmetrically with two flat portions 13 extending from the hooks 12 and intended to extend underneath the toe portion of the shoe when the device is applied, and with two additional portions 14 bent back in the same plane laterally from the first flat portions 13 and beyond the hook ends 12 where they are curved up and back to extend into portions 15 substantially parallel with portions 14 but spaced therefrom for accommodating between them the toe portion 8 of the shoe. At the ends of the portions 15 the wire is bent outwardly and transversely of the portions 13, 14 and 15 and downwardly in a curve 16 intended to embrace the toe portion 8 in transverse direction. The portion 16 connects the lower ends of the portions 16 and is curved substantially parallel therewith.

In the embodiment shown by Fig. 6 the clamping device is formed from fiat strip material. It is preferably made from one integral strip of material comprising a flat portion 17 intended to extend below and in contact with the sole of the toe portion 8 when the device is applied. The rest of the strip is bent back upon itself at 18 and provided with a hole through which the fastener 2 is driven into the weight 1. The bent back portion extends only as far as required for the accommodation of the fastener 2. The rest of the strip is bent up at 19 to a certain height and then bent again to extend substantially parallel with the portion 1'? and spaced therefrom so that the toe portion 8 of the shoe can be accommodated between the portions 17 and 20.

The material of the clamping means 17'20 may be resilient for an automatic clamping effect; however, for effecting a more reliable clamping hold, means are provided in this example for strapping the device to the shoe. For this purpose bails 21 are provided in coordinated locations both on the portions 17 and 20, for instance by partially cutting through the strip and deforming the portion between the cuts. Belts or straps 22, one of which is shown in dotted lines, may then be slipped through the bails 21 and used for strapping the device to the toe portion 8 of the shoe.

It is to be understood, that the forms of my invention herewith shown and described, are to be taken as preferred examples thereof, and that various changes in shape, size and arrangement of parts may be resorted to, without departing from the spirit of my invention, or the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. Weighting device for the treatment of foot ailments comprising bifurcated clamping means having two arm portions for embracing and for detachably engaging the toe portion of a shoe, and a weight attached to said clamping means, said clamping means including means for holding said weight forwardly spaced from the tip of said toe portion and for thereby causing said weight to exert gravitational pull on said toe portion of the shoe.

2. A weighting device as set forth in claim 1, said clamping means comprising two flexible arms and spring means for causing said flexible arms to engage the shoe with clatmping pressure.

3. A weighting device as set forth in claim 1, said clamping means being a wire forrn comprising a loop portion for the attachment of said weight, a substantially flat portion extending from said loop portion in one direction, and a third portion extending substantially parallel with said fiat portion and spaced therefrom, said third portion being connected at one end with one end of said flat portion, so that the toe portion of a shoe is engaged between said flat portion and said third portion when said device is applied to a shoe.

4. A weighting device as set forth in claim 1, said clamping means being a wire form comprising a loop portion for the attachment of said weight, a substantially fiat portion extending from said loop portion in one direction, a third portion extending substantially parallel with said fiat portion and spaced therefrom, said third portion being connected at one end with one end of said flat portion, and a fourth portion extending from said third portion in transverse direction and bent at its outer ends toward said fiat portion, so that the toe portion of a shoe is engaged between said fiat portion, said third portion and said fourth portion when said device is applied to a shoe.

5. A weighting device as set forth in claim 1, said ,4 clamping means comprising a first portion for attachment of said weight, a substantially flat portion extending from said first portion in one direction, a third portion extending substantially parallel with said fiat portion and spaced therefrom and being connected to said first portion at one end thereof, so that the toe portion of a shoe is engaged between said flat portion and said third portion when said device is applied to a shoe.

6. A weighting device as set forth in claim 1, said clamping means comprising a first portion for attachment of said Weight, a substantially fiat portion extending from said first portion in one direction, a third portion extending substantially parallel with said flat portion and spaced therefrom and being connected to said first portion at one end thereof, and strap means extending in transverse direction and operatively connected to said flat and third portions for strapping said device to the toe portion of a shoe when said device is applied to a shoe with said flat and third portions and said strap means embracing said toe portion.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 757,983 Vaile Apr. 19, 1904 1,511,312 Alastalo Oct. 14, 1924 1,997,139 Gardener et al Apr. 9, 1935 FOREIGN PATENTS 720,201 France Dec. 3, 1931 

